Houseplants can detox your home

Indoor climate has a great impact on human well-being, including comfort, productivity and health. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air quality is one of the top five risks to public health. We spend 80-90 percent of our time indoors and about 16 hours every day in our dwelling and therefor it is important to think about how to create the best possible indoor climate.

Plants can help to detoxify the home. According to this NASA study that focused on some of the most common indoor chemical pollutants (benzene, formaldehyde, & trichloroethylene) indoor plants made a significant reduction, especially of benzene and formaldehyde. According to the study, “this suggests that the plant roots and their associated microorganisms are the major pathway for chemical removal” and “these results indicate that plants can play a major role in removal of organic chemicals from indoor air.”

Some of the most efficient plants are:

Peace lily

Chrysanthemum

Red-Edged Dracaena

Variegated Snake Plant

English Ivy

Cornstalk dracaena

Gerbera

Anthurium

Lilyturf

Devil’s Ivy

Aloe Vera

For at detailed overview of the plants and how they are able to break down the different pollutants – take a look at this website.

The beautiful image (in the top) is from the blog Lobster and Swan – here you can find more inspiration on how to decorate with plants in your home.